


Who Needs Video Games When You're a Superhero?

by mesoquatic



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Deadpool AU, Deadpool Michael, M/M, Slow Burn, Spiderman AU, Spiderman Jeremy, nerds, origin, really slow burn, spideypool AU, superhero
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-02-03 04:25:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12740985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mesoquatic/pseuds/mesoquatic
Summary: Jeremy thought his life was normal until he hibernated in some cocoon and got superpowers.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [m_number24](https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_number24/gifts).



Okay, Heere, this is it. If you just run from this edge of the building to the other and jump off the ledge at exactly the right moment, you’ll make it. Of course, that’s if you are able to get the jump right. If you don’t, it’s game over. Game over is no good.

Think for a few seconds. Breathe. Breathing is good, it calms you down. Breathe and think. Good. Think about Michael. He’s depending on you right now. If you do this, he’ll be so proud and happy and excited.

But don’t let peer pressure, though more like friendly pressure, bring you down. That, and the idea about messing it all up. Don’t think of that. No, Jeremy-Stop-Stop thinking about the consequences that happen if you don’t make it.

Take a deep breath and go.

Feel your legs and feet moving? Good. That’s what they are supposed to do. Keep accelerating, you won’t get anywhere if you don’t go fast enough. There are zombies, government agents, aliens, gangsters-whatever-they-are on your tail. Just close enough to be biting at your heels. They are also gaining speed and you can’t give up now.

With one final jump right on the edge, you’ll push off, giving enough force to make it. You’re just about flying, the wind in your face with the absence of gravity. You are free from any troubles up here. The seconds are hours long and you can just think.

Well, that is until you are plummeting down to your death, a splat and a game-over message plastered on the screen. Michael groaned next to Jeremy, leaning against him. Only the bright screen of Jeremy’s monitor-turned-small-television, lit up their faces. The clock told them that it was three in the morning, but it felt way later than that.

“You’re terrible at this.” Michael mumbled, taking the controller away from Jeremy. He sat up, only to reset the level. They’ve been doing the same actions for hours, switching off and occasionally having a break for more snacks or to use the bathroom.

Jeremy yawned, leaning against Michael as he got closer and closer to the end. It was machine work at this point, automated so much that they could do it in their sleep. But, the last jump always ended in failure. This time was no different.

With a groan, Michael fell back, lying down on the massive beanbag. He threw the controller up in the air, letting Jeremy catch it. They couldn’t afford to break the only one that they shared at the moment, Michael’s was dropped off the fire escape one day while racing up to Jeremy’s place.

Jeremy instinctively laid down, too. He placed his head against Michael’s arm, staring up at the glow in the dark stars on his ceiling. There was a small splatter of paint from when Jeremy was super into painting and had accidentally flicked some upwards was there, too.

Closing his eyes for just a few seconds, he let out a tired sigh. “Why was staying up late a good idea?”

“Because,” Michael yawned as he sat back up, leaving Jeremy’s head to flop to the bean bag under him. “We promised each other we would beat this level before the LODA field trip.” He checked his watch, glancing down at Jeremy. “That’s in five hours.”

Jeremy shot back up again, looking like he was a little too wide awake. He opened his mouth to say something only to grab his head. “Jesus, I think I got whiplash.”

Laughing, Michael squished his cheeks. “I-” he pulled away, tapping his cheeks. “Am going to go get more food so I have an excuse to not have to watch your fucking pitiful attempt.”

“Shut up-” Jeremy complained, pushing Michael off of his bean bag. “You better get more Doritos!” He called after him before turning back to the screen and hitting the option to restart the level.

Michael came back right before the jump, or frankly, Jeremy was waiting for him. If he made it, there was no way Michael was going to believe him. The second Michael was sat down, he took a deep breath, attempting to jump again and-

He woke up cuddled against Michael in the most uncomfortable fashion possible. The screen was telling them game over but also that their controller’s battery was dead. The light must have been turned on by his dad, seeing as they were both basking in a warm glow. But, his light switch was still down.

He looked down to Michael. Then his window. Then his clock. 7:23am.

“Fuck!”

Michael stirred a little, grabbing for Jeremy’s leg as he pulled his pants up. Jeremy just about kicked Michael off of the beanbag just to wake him up. It took him a few seconds to realize their situation.

See, if you are caught up with your anime cliches, you would know that Jeremy and Michael were totally running out of their apartment building late with toast in their mouths. Jeremy made it last minute, only giving enough time for it to be considered toast.

On the street, they ran down the sidewalk, trying to get to the subway before the one they were supposed to catch with their class left the station. Every once in awhile, they readjusted their shoes. It only took them until they were just to the bottom of the stairs to realize that Jeremy had one of Michael’s and Michael had one of Jeremy’s. With a short toss, they were back in session.

The announcement of the train leaving in thirty seconds triggered a full on sprint, causing them to slip through the doors right before the doors closed. They huffed, grabbing onto the same pole for support and straightening their jackets. They looked like students going to their school, though the messiest ones there.

With a clearing of a throat, Michael looked over, seeing their chaperone, Mister Reyes, standing there. His arms were crossed as he stared them down. Michael nudged Jeremy in the side too, and he turned around and saw the angry man.

“Boys.” His tone was strict enough he could be a dictator. He raised his chin a little, turning back and stiffly walking down the train as best as he could without disrupting many people. His walk was funny in a sort of way you would snicker at, stiff legged and wonky.

Michael grabbed Jeremy by the sleeve of his jacket, helping him weave around the people so they could follow their teacher. Eventually, they caught eye of the matching blue jackets and blouses, with the yellow shirts that didn’t quite seem to match the plaid socks and black shoes. Their uniforms were truly a mess.

The second they joined their group, their tickets were pressed against their chests. Small threats about being late were coming out of the teacher’s mouth. There was that feeling of guilt in the air. Michael and Jeremy knew very well how hard they both fought for this spot. Only ten people were allowed to get in for the tour out of the thousand who went to their school.

Jeremy listened to Mister Reyes go on and on, trying to speak louder than the noise being produced from elsewhere. He couldn’t help but glance over, seeing Christine paying attention with perfect accuracy. With every point that was important, she bobbed her head just slightly. Her eyes refused to move off of one point, Mister Reyes’ nose. He remembered being told once that the nose was the best place to look at when listening to someone. If anything, all he got from it was learning that his history teacher had a lot of snot and boogers in there.

His teeth reached to bite his bottom lip, his eyes starting to wander down a bit. Well, everything seemed like he was a total creep until Michael nudged him, gaining his attention. He reached to Jeremy’s face, manually stopping him from biting his lip. It was a bad habit they both had.

“No,” He scolded, taking his hands away. Jeremy squinted, sticking out his tongue to mock him. He merely pushed it back into his mouth. “No to sticking out your tongue, too. We are in public, Jeremiah.”

“Don’t call me Jeremiah, you sound like my dad.”

“Boys!”

They immediately stopped, luckily having been caught early on into the conversation. That, unfortunately, left them without being able to talk for the rest of the ride. Though, they were very handsy in play fighting: nudging, poking, soft slapping. No wonder everyone thought they were dating.

The train arrived at their stop, letting them form a small group and march through the station. Jeremy somehow got a spot between Michael and Christine, of all people. That also meant that Jake wasn’t close behind.

You see, Jake was considered to be the other half of some love triangle with Christine. Except, there was the fact that she’s never said yes to a date, not one in general or even a school dance. Her two really good friends, Chloe and Brooke, would just giggle and snicker whenever she was asked out, like they were in on some secret.

Jeremy always dreamed that someday he would ask out Christine and she would say something along the lines of waiting for him to ask her all these years. That meant a yes, a kiss, like some cheesy romance novel.

But, let him remind you that writing a cheesy romance novel is just a fantasy of a writer. Or, think of it as real-life fanfiction. A self-insert and your crush, if you will. And Jeremy, oh Jeremy, has never ready any of those. Totally didn’t have a whole list bookmarked on his computer with all his favorites. Not at all.

Now, other than his obsession, though he really called it a slight desire, with Christine, he had various things going on in his life. The private high school that they all attended was as public as a private school could get. Despite being a STEM based school, you still had your mix of the crop.

That also meant that they were the nerd school in town. Which, by how noticeable their uniforms were, it wasn’t common to get beat up for it in the wrong neighborhood. This also caused the classes to grow smaller every year, with less and less students coming into the freshman section of their school. Jeremy didn’t blame them.

It also wasn’t common for their school to take groups to different places in the Science District. But, being able to go to LODA was a huge privilege. They lead the whole state of New York in science advancement. Hell, probably all of the eastern side of North America! And their home lab was one of the most notable buildings in all of the city.

Jeremy’s palms were already sweating profusely by the time they even reached the front of the building. They were still on the public part of the lot. That didn’t change the shock and pure excitement in anyone’s eyes, especially Jeremy’s.

“Oh my God,” Michael breathed out, filled with as much excitement as Jeremy had. Michael’s foot tapped against the sidewalk. Jeremy’s own followed soon after. They were bubbling with emotion and any second they would explode like your stereotypical volcano science fair project.

But of course, sometimes it just didn’t work. You never know until it happens.

“It’s beautiful.” Jeremy mumbled mindlessly. From the ground staring straight up the building, he was getting the chills with the added feeling of vertigo. It gave such a rush.

“Now, let’s get inside before we’re late for our tour!” Mr. Reyes ushered them all inside, letting each person through the metal detector one by one.

Inside the building was even more than they expected, though they weren’t given much time to look. Their tour guide was strict, leading them through and became cross by even an inch of movement towards something. Michael wasn’t exactly surprised, seeing as how locked down and under key this place was.

They were so lucky to be able to even be inside, let alone get to go inside one of the labs where they worked on DNA. Jeremy’s smile only grew bigger the longer he was in there. Christine kept close to him while they were in one room, looking at all these small insects in cages. She didn’t look all too happy about that part.

The tour guide brought them over to a certain case, almost entirely covered in some sort of webbing. Without a care in the world, she removed the casing to reveal a small spider. It stayed on the desk, but wandered around as she explained what they had done to it. Something along the lines on genetically modifying it.

No one seemed to notice that, when the casing went back on, it wasn’t inside.

When they left, it was lunch time, leaving everyone starving but also wishing that they could have stayed longer. The ride back to school was as terrible as you’d expect it to be, even worse considering how bummed out everyone was. Who knew if they’d ever get an experience like that again, and it seemed so rushed.

The group went out for lunch, Mister Reyes’ treat. He found a small corner shop deli and let everyone order a sandwich. Jeremy and Michael didn’t live too far away, meaning that they already knew their orders by heart the second they walked in. They even took their usual spots in the corner, on the tall chairs, watching the busy street as they ate.

Somewhere in the back of his head, alarms were blaring in Jeremy’s head. There was something wrong but he couldn’t figure it out. False alarm, must be a little anxiety, he thought as he bit down on his sandwich. Nothing has ever beat these sandwiches.

“Which TV show do you wish you lived in?"

Jeremy furrowed his eyebrows, looking over to Michael with his mouth filled with meat, cheese, and lettuce. He put his sandwich down, covering his mouth as he chewed. After he was done, he spoke up. “What?”

“Which TV show do you wish you lived in? You heard me.”

“That came out of nowhere,” he mumbled, reaching for his meal but was stopped by Michael. He stared. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

“Yes.”

“But it was so random. Don’t you know that being random died out when we were eleven?” Jeremy watched Michael carefully, who looked completely serious.

“Just answer the question, Jere.” Michael moved his hand to squeeze his shoulder.

“You better answer why, though,” He took a deep breath before starting to think. “H-How about one of those really bad superhero shows? You know what I mean. I’d have powers and I’d be cool and all that.”

“Sounds like a soap opera.”

Jeremy playfully punched his shoulder, gawking. “I’d be the main character of the best soap opera.”

“Who said you would be the main character?” Michael took a sip of his soda before sticking the straw in front of Jeremy’s mouth, clearly offering it to him. “Who said anyone was to be the main character?”

Jeremy took a sip, frowning a little. “Don’t get all philosophical on me.”

“Okay, but isn’t everyone a main character to themselves but to other people, they’re just side characters or straight NPCs. It’s crazy!” Michael smiled wide, tapping to some beat with his foot against the floor.

“It sure is,” he mumbled through his food. He didn’t really see himself as the main character of his story. Even if it was his story.

Michael went on and on about that topic, only going through one ear and out the other for Jeremy. He tried to pay attention but he just couldn’t. He felt dizzy yet still, crowded but alone, panicked, yet calm.

That wasn’t a normal feeling, making him so unsure about everything around him. He felt high but he knew he was sober. The only feeling coming through was a sharp sting to the back of his neck, like he had been hit with a taser.

“M-Michael-” he grabbed onto Michael’s arm, not hearing himself or the words that looked like they were coming out of Michael’s mouth. “I-I don’t-”

The second he wasn’t sitting down, he just about collapsed against Michael. Everything seemed sharper but so much more dull. It felt like he was becoming some microscope and everything he saw, he zoomed in on. He also felt like he was upside down, hanging from the ceiling and feeling every single drop of blood rushing to his head.

He felt like he was going to throw up. Mister Reyes, the store owner, and Michael had rushed around him to help but Jake and another kid had gotten their cellphones out and started to video tape.

The second his hearing came back, it was even louder than anything he had heard before. Every voice was a stereo set on the loudest setting right next to his ear. His brain felt fried and his body seemed to be in the fryer or the oven or the volcano with it. The pounding in his head grew louder and louder and louder and-

Silence. Complete and utter silence. Almost deafening in nature, silence. Before human civilization and the sky free of plans and the fields free of trains kind of silence. If anything, before the big bang or whatever thing started the universe. So much silence that sound doesn’t even exist.

Not only silence but every sound at once. That was a better explanation. It’s like you’re in silence in a classroom and only with your thoughts and commentary about how it’s so quiet. But, in every head, equations or atomic theories or Shakespeare, filled the crevices. Except, every second seemed to be a mile long with thoughts ascending up and up.

Until it was over.

It was all over without a glimpse of what had happened. Seconds that seemed like miles long that only lasted as a blink of an eye. Microseconds, really.

And Jeremy had no clue of anything that seemed to be going on. Waking up with a massive headache had only happened one other time. That was freshman year, back when he tried to get in with the cool crowd. One party left him wasted beyond belief and promising everyone in his life, but mostly himself, never to do that again. He also learned that maybe the cool people wasn’t necessarily set in stone. It was a revolving door. He was one of the people who got stuck and would get unstuck for a second before getting stuck yet again.

He sat up, grabbing his head and blinking a few times. A hand held out a glass of water, holding it up to his lips cautiously. Looking over, Michael smiled at him, pushing the glass against his mouth.

“You better drink this before I shove the whole glass down your throat.”

Jeremy couldn’t even get a single sip as Michael rubbed it against his mouth, making weird faces form. Jeremy eventually brought his hand up and grabbed the cup away from his friend. He frowned at the giggles as he downed the whole thing.

“I don’t think you-” he stopped to take a deep breath, still slightly laughing at Jeremy. “I don’t think you’re supposed to chug it.”

“You told me to drink it. I’ll drink it how I want.” Jeremy stuck out his tongue, only causing more laughter to erupt from Michael.

Michael, on the other hand, tried to contain his laughter long enough to take the cup back in one hand and use the other to push Jeremy’s tongue back into his mouth. He kept his finger there as he checked his phone.

“So, you passed out during the field trip, thank God. I did not want to go to-” he stopped for a second, no longer scrolling. “Did you just lick me?”

“Yes.”

They both burst into laughter, though Jeremy’s was short lived. He only got a few good laughs out before grabbing onto the ladder of his bunk bed, suddenly light headed. Michael stopped, reaching over and grabbing his shoulders.

“You should lay back down. You still look terrible.” He didn’t wait for Jeremy’s confirmation before helping him lay down. Once he was settled, Michael moved from his computer chair to the bed. “Not enough sleep?”

“Shouldn’t you be miserable, too?”

“Okay, maybe you didn’t process the food that well?”

“I had just started when I passed out.”

“Maybe some fumes from LODA?”

Jeremy nodded slightly, hearing his stomach growl. His wrists still felt like they were on fire as well as his headache, only getting worse as time went on. The street below sounded like rush hour with his window open. It was all so wrong.

“Can you close my window?” He mumbled, turning to his side as he did. Michael got up, going over to the window. He seemed to pause in uncertainty.

“Jeremy?”

“Yeah?”

“Your window isn’t open.”

Jeremy suddenly sat up, looking over to his window and furrowing his eyebrows. Then, he quickly grabbed at his head as Michael rushed over to help him to lay back down.

“Don’t move so much. You’ll hurt yourself,” Michael scolded, sighing before he sat himself down and took his hands away. “You’ve already hurt yourself enough as is.”

Jeremy stayed cringing as his hands stayed on his temples. “Do we have any Tylenol?”

“Didn’t I give you some earlier?” He furrowed his eyebrows. “With your water?”

“I don’t recall that.”

Michael sighed, getting up and heading into the bathroom, muttering something as he went along the lines of, “Don’t die while I’m gone.”

He came back with Tylenol, putting it on the nightstand before leaving with his glass to refill it. Jeremy sat up in the meantime only to get lectured by Michael for not waiting until he got back.

“Here,” he opened the cap of the bottle and poured one out into Jeremy’s palm. Then waiting until it was in his mouth, he pressed the water up to his lips. Jeremy took it quickly, sticking out his tongue before taking a long gulp. “You better have not lied to me about it. That’s probably not good for your body.”

“Most likely.” Jeremy noted, slowly laying back down. His whole body was sorer than that one time he thought he could play a sport during freshman year of high school and only lasted one practice. “What do you think happened?”

“Jere, as much as I care about you, we’ve been over that before.”

“Right.” He yawned a little, moving to lay on his side. “I’m going to take a power nap.”

“If the power nap is death, I do not agree.”

Jeremy let out a soft chuckle and closed his eyes. “Nope.”

“Better not be lying to me.” Michael smiled a little. “I don’t like it when you do that.”

When Jeremy awoke this time, there was no one else. He was alone. His eyes opened and he found himself somewhere strange. It wasn’t his room, there was no way it was. He was on the floor of some place, something keeping him down on the textured floor. It could have been concrete, only it felt like one of his walls.

And it was. Except not at the same time. It was his ceiling. Gravity had seemed to be reversed. Looking back on it now, sometimes Jeremy wished he got gravity powers.

Instead, he got himself stuck in some spider cocoon. This fact made him panic a lot. Said panic caused him to fall, landing on his bed with a large thump.

All evidence of the pain from before he went to sleep (Yesterday? Earlier today? Two days ago? Two years ago? He could just be one of those coma memes now.) had disappeared. Above him, though, was a mass of spiderwebs hanging off his ceiling. He squirmed, looking around to find whatever killer spider there was inhabiting his room and the greater area of New York City.

He only found even more webs on his arms and back which only made him squirm in fear even more. How did this even get here? No matter how much he cleaned up, his wrists seemed to produce more.

Jeremy paused for a second, rubbing a spot on his wrist only to find a fresh scar. He checked his other wrist to find an identical one. He stepped back a little and put his wrists down. A small dribble of web that came out made him shriek, and he jumped back onto his bed to escape it. That is until he realized that it was coming from his wrists.

Maybe he was the killer spider inhabiting his room and the greater area of New York City.

“Jeremy?”

Fuck, whatever time or day it was, his dad was totally coming down the hallway and to his room. He could make out his footprints, even without the squeak of that one floorboard. But, knowing his dad, he’d freak even worse than Jeremy did about the spider thing.

“Just a moment!” He called back, standing up on his bed to start wiping away the webs. The texture was the opposite of what he’d expected. It was more of a viscous liquid than a solid. It was even dripping down to his bed like some weird goop that Jeremy could only describe as liquid spiderweb. Made a lot of sense, didn’t it?

He, luckily, was under the blankets before his dad opened the door. He smiled and got a smile back as his dad sat down in his desk chair.

“Feeling any better? You sounded pretty lively in here.”

“Y-Yeah, just rolled out of my bed and woke up.” He faked a yawn to make it sound more realistic. Good going there, Heere, he’s totally buying this.

His dad only raised an eyebrow. In response, Jeremy faked a cough, only sending a web to his boxers under the blanket and cringing.

“Well,” he rolled forward, planting his feet into two, well placed pools of liquid spiderweb. That only made Jeremy cringe a little more. “You slept all of yesterday and all of last night without a hitch.” He chuckled. “You might as well have been hibernating!"

Jeremy awkwardly chuckled, biting his lip to shut himself up quickly. “Must have been really sick!” More unnecessary laughter. God, he needed to pay more attention in his acting classes.

His dad stood up but didn’t move his feet yet. “I’m going to order takeout for lunch. Do you want anything special?”

“Uh-” Jeremy stayed still, thinking for a little. “Pizza?”

“I ordered one the other night for your little game night with Michael.” He stated, crossing his arms. “Pick something else.”

“Chinese…?” He made a weird face, only to stop when his dad found it fitting to eat.

When he attempted to leave, he almost tripped. He looked down only to find the webs stuck to his socks. He had to pull himself free.

“Maybe you should clean up your rug from whatever glue volcano you made.” His dad squinted a little before sighing. “Nevermind, that’s never going to get out. You can throw it out.”

The second his door was closed, Jeremy attempted to get out of his bed, only to find himself tangled in a wet, blanket, face to floor, mess.

Now, only if he knew that it wasn’t the only time he was going to faceplant into something that day. Or for a good two weeks until he mastered his powers.


	2. Chapter 2

“-I want to get one of those sweatshirts that they sell downtown, y’know? In the market? With the spider suit on the print?” Jeremy took a sip of his slushie and watched his friend curiously. Michael was dancing around, kicking up sawdust as he went and blabbered on.

“Spider suit? Really? That’s the nerdiest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Michael ran over, pressing Jeremy’s slushie up to his mouth to shush him. “Got any other ideas, Jeremiah?”

Jeremy pushed his slushie away from his mouth. “I think you’re crazy.”

“I-” Michael smiled, putting down his own slushie to stand up on the swing next to Jeremy. “Think I’m in love.”

“You’ve never met the guy. Slow down there, Juliet.” Jeremy pulled out his phone and started to look through his messages. “He’s a superhero, not some guy on gay tinder.”

“It’s called Grindr, for one. Two, I’m in high school, I don’t use dating apps.”

“Uh-huh.” Jeremy mocked, clearly unconvinced. “Tell that to me with a straight face after you accidentally sent me a nude.”

Michael gawked, swinging a little. “You’re the one who opened it!”

“How was I supposed to know that it was your dick?” Jeremy squinted up at him, swinging just a little. Unlike Michael, Jeremy was being a civilized citizen and sat on the swing.

Michael groaned after a few minutes, leaning back on the swing. Next thing Jeremy knew, he was hearing a shriek from Michael and looking back to see him in the sawdust. He burst into laughter.

After getting up and wiping away the wood chips, he pointed at Jeremy. “Don’t lAugh at me!” If anything, Jeremy started to laugh more when his voice cracked.

“DoN’t LaUgH aT mE!” Jeremy teased, laughing even more. Michael got fed up, marching over and pulling the swing back. Jeremy shrieked, grabbing onto the chains on either side of the seat. Michael immediately pushed him, letting him fly high into the air-

Thwip.

Jeremy grabbed onto a building, closing his eyes. God, his knees were wobbling. It wasn’t the height at this point, but instead having to save himself from falling. He went to swing, sending a web towards a building to latch onto only to find nothing. He had missed. He just about died. Wouldn’t be the first time.

Well, he really hasn’t been that close unless you count the whole superhero hobby of his. There’s no way he could ever call this a job. Of course, also, fighting crime comes with a side effect. He was as close to the action as the police were, all of them putting their lives on the line. He also did that.

He had still yet to wrap his head around that concept.

Tonight was his average night. Crime was less common than he had originally thought. That is, and he had yet to figure out this connection, until he started to help. Everyone wanted to face off against the superhero in town and prove that they are better. It was an ego stroking concept that only got them put in jail.

Also, tonight just had to be the night that he caught a robbery in the back alley behind a 7-11. Now, he knew that it was one by the bright lights and how it was the closest to where Michael and him lived. It was the spot they would frequent a lot. Walking home through the alley was always a scary option.

And sometimes Michael was an idiot.

Jeremy swung down, landing in a small puddle and alerting the two men of his presence. Behind them and pressed against a wall, Michael. Under him his slushie had fallen and spilled all over the concrete.

“Hey,” Jeremy immediately dodged a knife from one of the men, kicking it out of his hand. “Aren’t you going to at least talk to me before you attack? I came to have a pleasant conversation.”

Jeremy smiled under the mask, knowing very well how cocky and confident he got. No one knew it was him there. No one knew he was some lanky, nerdy kid from a private school. No one knew his obsession with chemistry or biology. No one knew anything but Spiderman.

“You-”

A punch to the jaw. Jeremy frowned as he turned back to him. He set a web to the hand of the first man, making sure he could not get to his knife. He took this time to move to the other one, the one who punched him. He dodged a hit only to push him towards the wall. He set a few webs to keep him against the wall and some towards the other. Once he was sure, he looked to Michael.

“Hey M-kid,” he cringed. “Mind calling the police for me?”

Michael nodded quickly, taking out his phone with a shaky hand. He ran his hand through his hair as he dialed 9-1-1. He quickly explained, telling the operator where they were. When he was done, he looked up at Jeremy.

And he giggled.

“Y-You’re him! Oh my God, you’re him!” Michael jumped a little, his eyes and whole face glowing under the moonlight. “You’re Spiderman!”

“Sure am.”

“A-And you saved me,” he pointed at himself. “Out of all people to save!” He jumped again, his hands flapping along. “Oh, Jeremy is going to freak!”

Jeremy chuckled, raising his hands a little. “I’m sure he’ll-”

“No, no, no, you don’t understand.” Michael giggled. “Y-You’re Spiderman.”

“I think I understand that."

“And I’m me! I’m a high school student!” He spoke loudly and with his hands. “I-I’m the guy who usually gets beat up and now I got saved! By Spiderman!”

“Hey, slow down there M-kid.” He almost did it again, mentally cursing at himself over and over.

Michael paused for a second. “M-kid?” He immediately started to move again, jumping around as he squealed. “You have a nickname for me!”

Jeremy attempted to calm him down again only to send him into a long ramble. He eventually grabbed Michael’s shoulder and opened his mouth only to see a cop car coming down the alley. He frowned, knowing very well he wasn’t on good terms with the police.

Quickly, he wrapped an arm around Michael’s waist. “Hold on.”

Michael quickly did, hugging him and shrieking a little the second they were off the ground. If anything, he held on tighter with his eyes sewn shut, muttering something under his breath over and over and over.

Jeremy landed carefully on their roof. He didn’t take the time to think about how Michael would recognize the building and realize that Spiderman knew the general area of where he lived. What he did worry about is the fact that Michael fell to the floor and held onto it like his life depended on it.

“Holy, sweet, mother of the lord, how do you deal with doing that all the time?” He closed his eyes as he rolled over until his chest faced up. “Jesus! I sound like my mother!”

Jeremy laughed, falling over to lay down next to him. “I’m sure,” he took a deep breath. “Your mother is a wonderful lady.”

“Both of them are!”

Oh, right. Michael had two moms. It had become second nature for Jeremy and only now did it seem different. Hell, Michael even seemed nervous saying that in front of him. Oh, oh yeah. Michael isn’t talking to Jeremy.

“I have two moms. That’s what I meant.” Michael rubbed the sides of his palms against his pants. “They’re really cool and all.”

“Are you scared that I’m not going to be okay with you having two moms?”

“Uh-”

The answer was yes. It was so obviously yes.

“It’s not like I can judge you for it. Love is love-”

“I’m gay.”

Oh, Michael, honey. You can’t just blurt things out like that in front of your big, stupid crush. Especially when said crush knows you have posters of him in your room.

You see, Jeremy knew Michael was not straight. He’d told him a long time ago. What Michael didn’t know was that Jeremy did not consider himself straight either.

“I’m bi.”

“What?”

“I’m a bisexual spider.”

Michael burst into laughter after a second of silence. He sat up, grabbing at his sides as he continued. It seemed like it would never stop.

“You could be a queer icon!”

“I don't think many people would be okay with the idea of a Jewish, queer superhero.”

“Jeremy's Jewish too!”

“Jeremy?” He pretended to be confused though he was really happy more than anything. “Is he your friend?”

“Yeah! He’s super cool and everything!” Michael sighed, making Jeremy’s heart jump. That was the same love struck sigh Michael would use when he talked about Spiderman. Of course, Jeremy could just be overthinking the whole thing.

“How is he cool?”

Goddammit, Jeremy, you can’t just go asking your crush how he likes you when he doesn’t know it’s you. This is scandalous! God, he cringed just thinking about how he just did it. He shouldn’t be doing this and he knew that.

“He’s really good at engineering and chemistry. Like, you can ask him something in one of those subjects and he knows. He’s an expert!”

Jeremy chuckled. “I don’t think-”

“NO-” Michael grabbed his shoulders and forced him to sit up. “You don’t know him so you wouldn’t understand-”

“Maybe he doesn’t know the answer to everything so he makes it up?”

Michael paused.

“Well, there was that one time in chemistry where his advice caused me to almost blow up our lab station.” He frowned for a few seconds, his shoulders slumping. “But!” He went back to his cheery self, explaining with one hand and the other on Jeremy’s shoulder. “He’s just really smart and like, I don’t get why he still hangs out with me when I’m just...” he went back to frowning. “Michael.”

And Jeremy made him sad. This was bad. Red alert! Red alert! Red alert!

“So,” he dragged it out, watching Michael carefully. He was awfully close to him right now. “Your name is Michael?”

Michael seemed to grow a little excited only for it to disappear. “Didn’t you know? You called me M-kid twice earlier. That must mean that you at least knew that my name started with the letter M.”

Red alert! Red alert! Red alert!

“Uh-” Jeremy scooted away from Michael, suddenly very uncomfortable. “Look, kid,” he paused, realizing how Michael’s face contorted into an expression of depression. He’s got to lay it off easy. “I don’t know you-”

“But, you can! Y-You can stay and we can t-”

“No!”

Well, he did not even attempt to be subtle. Michael’s eyes were starting to water.

“I’m sorry, Mitchell, Michele, Michael, whatever your name is, but we can’t be friends.” Jeremy took a deep breath. “There’s no way for that to happen. We’re strangers-”

“But,” Michael sniffled. “You saved me.”

“You need to understand that my job isn’t to save you and only you. My job-” he cringed, not only because he was calling it a job but because Michael was in tears. “Is to protect anyone who’s innocent.”

Silence. The air was filled with silence except for the sounds of the city that their ears have learned to tune out. Not only silence, but stillness. One could paint this scene of despair and there would still be time to spare.

Jeremy left before more could be said. He swung straight into his room, knowing for a fact that Michael wouldn’t see him go in. He undressed, pausing a few seconds before grabbing his clothes from that day. He slipped his shoes on and climbed the fire escape up to the top. Michael was still there.

“Hey.”

Michael immediately looked back to Jeremy, his eyes noticeably pink from a distance. Jeremy could only imagine what they looked like up close. He did this. He caused this pain to him and he didn’t even think about the consequences.

“H-Hey?” Michael adjusted to face Jeremy as he made his way over, wiping at his eyes with his sleeve. “H-How’d you know I-I was here?”

“I stopped by your house to see you but one of your moms told me she hadn’t seen you yet. So I checked here and,” he motioned to him. “Here you are! Crying…”

“I’m just a wimp.” He mumbled. “I’m a wimp that screws up every chance I get.”

Jeremy took a deep breath, pulling Michael into a hug. “You’re not a wimp.”

“Yes, I-”

“No.” Jeremy and him made eye contact. “You are not even close to a wimp.” He moved his hands up to cup his face. “You’re braver than that, and cooler, and hilarious, and amazing.”

Michael buried his face into Jeremy’s shirt, his fists clenching the fabric. “I fucked it up.”

“What did you fuck up?”

“I met him,” Michael gulped. “I-I met him and I made h-him run away!”

He broke into sobs, letting Jeremy pat his shoulder softly. He took a deep breath and snuggled his face into Michael’s hood to protect from the cold.

“Him?” Jeremy already knew the answer.

“Spiderman! H-He saved me!” Jeremy shushed him, hoping for him to calm down. “He saved me in s-in some alley a-and brought me here a-”

He paused, sobbing and all. Jeremy froze the second Michael moved an inch. He sniffled.

“How the hell does he know where I live?”

Fuck.

“Maybe he just knows his way around?”

It was a week later now. Michael had mostly gotten over the rooftop incident. At least that’s what he would tell Jeremy. They both knew better than to believe his terrible lying. It was eating away at both of them.

It was a colder night, leaving them in Jeremy’s room with the window locked shut. The door was the same, except it was unlocked so his dad would not think that they were doing something dirty.

If ‘something dirty’ was watching The Princess Bride from Jeremy’s top bunk, covered in mountains of blanket but still leaving their toes cold and sipping on hot chocolate while snaking then they totally should have locked the door.

The best thing about is that Michael knew it by heart and loved to quote lines. But, sadly, he was more in a mood to suddenly talk about that night in a good tone. A good, curious tone.

“No, he must have known!” Michael almost knocked over his mug with his hands. “How many apartment buildings are in New York, Jere? Hundreds! Maybe thousands! But he put me on the roof of this very building! The one I just happened to live in!”

Jeremy sighed, making a motion for Michael to lower his volume. “Yeah, it’s a low chance. But-”

“I want to meet him again.”

Oh.

Jeremy’s breathing hitched.

“Are you okay, Jere?”

He glanced over to Michael before looking back to his desktop. “Yeah.”

“Don’t think that I believe that for a second.”

“Just-” he searched for a scapegoat. “Got surprised by the movie, that’s all.”

“We’ve watched this movie at least a hundred times.”

“This part always surprises me!” He defended, motioning to the screen. “The giant rodent comes out of nowhere!”

It was Michael’s turn to mock what Jeremy did earlier and gesture for him to quiet down. He couldn’t do it without laughing, either. Michael had one of those laughs that either you sat in silence and treasured or it spread like the plague and infected everyone. This time was one of those times that Jeremy would have died if he didn’t laugh with him.

“Do you think that Spiderman has ever fought a giant rat?”

Yes. Yes, Jeremy has. It wasn’t for another few days. But, he has.

He stumbled onto the roof of his apartment building after a long battle in the sewers, lying down so he could stare up at the sky. He had no idea that Michael was even there. Or that he dropped his joint in amazement. Slowly crawling over, Michael prayed under his breath that his hero wasn’t going to notice that he was high and smelled very much so.

“H-Hey?”

Jeremy sat up, coming face to face with Michael. Their noses were almost touching like some bad romantic novel. That, or one of those fan fictions that seem to get written about Jeremy. Not Jeremy, Spiderman. He could go on a super long rant about how ninety-nine percent of them are wrong. He didn’t have anything close to a body of Hugh Jackman.

“Hey…” Jeremy had to stop himself from saying anything more. He backed off a little, taking one whiff and cringing. It wasn’t a new thing for him. For the mask? Yes. “Were you smoking…?”

“Yes.”

Michael’s eyes immediately went wide as he pulled away a little. He chuckled, clearing his throat as well.

“I-uh-Are you here to arrest me…?”

“No.” Well, he should be. He’s just soft for his friend, he guesses. Of course, he’s being a giant hypocrite for doing it, too. “High?”

“Yes.”

Jeremy nodded to himself. He had asked but he already knew the answer. “Why…?”

“My friend’s hiding something from me and it’s stressing me out.”

Shit. Shit. Did he know? He seemed like he knew. Was his high telling him that Jeremy was Spiderman? Was that even possible? He’s been high before, he should know that being high doesn’t give you super-

“You good?”

Oh, right, Michael.

“Y-Yeah.”

“You look a little spooked.” Michael motioned to his mask. “I-I mean you sound like it. I can’t see your face.”

“Of course you can’t see my face. I have a mask for a reason."

“Then take it off.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I look like a weasel.”

Michael burst into laughter, grabbing at his stomach as he fell backwards. If that wasn’t enough, he started to dramatically roll around on the floor. Jeremy eventually stopped him, placing his hands on his shoulders.

“A-A weasel?”

“Just like the giant one I just defeated!”

Michael’s eyes went wide. “You fought a giant weasel?”

“It was more like a giant rat.”

Jeremy forgot the conversation from earlier in the week. Michael did not. His eyes went wider, concerning the other mildly.

“Don’t do that! Your eyes are going to fall out of their sockets!”

“B-But,” he calmed down a little before grabbing his head. “Holy shit, I can predict the future!”

“What-”

He stood up, flapping his hands around with a giant grin on his face. “I asked Jeremy earlier this week if he thought you’ve ever faced a giant rodent because we were watching The Princess Bride!”

Jeremy chuckled, starting to remember the exchange. He sat up to get a better look at Michael only to wince a little.

Oh, right. That happened.

“Are you okay?”

Jeremy’s hand went to his shoulder and nodded. “I’m fine.”

It didn’t take much before Michael was pushing Jeremy’s hand out of the way and cringing. Jeremy pushed Michael off and took a deep breath.

“Ever heard of a thing called privacy?”

Michael paused, the same look of sadness coming over his eyes.

“I-I just want to help.”

“Well, I’ve got it.” Jeremy’s strict voice only made Michael look worse.

He swung off and into his apartment before any more could be said. He felt terrible, just like he did the last time, but it was not like it was a new feeling in general.

Jeremy, for the next two weeks, was convinced that Michael knew everything. Not only would he talk about Spiderman even more, he never said anything about the second night on the roof happening. So, Jeremy caught himself almost saying incriminating things hundreds of times before remembering the fact that he shouldn’t know them.

Of course, after two weeks, something must have happened. And it did. Jeremy’s thoughts on the subject? He’s in love with a big idiot.

Michael just happened to purposely take a stroll in the bad side of New York. He was really lucky that Jeremy was worried about him, otherwise he wouldn’t be latched to him as he swung them back downtown. He landed on one of the roofs and took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. Michael, on the other hand? Ecstatic.

“How come you say we aren’t friends when you just clearly saved my life?”

“Because,” Jeremy turned to face his friend. “You were in trouble! It’s my thing to save innocent people from getting hurt!”

“Well!” Michael yelled back, surprising Jeremy. “I went out of my way to do that and you still saved me! You don’t usually go in that neighborhood! Did you follow me or something?”

Jeremy turned away again, wanting to scream into his pillow. He didn’t have it. Instead, he grabbed his head and cringed. “I-” he took a deep breath.

“So you did follow me out there?” He crossed his arms. “Why?”

Jeremy stayed quiet and still.

“Why? Is it because you know me? You sure as hell do! But, under the suit? You may as well!”

“I-” Jeremy suddenly turned around, ripping the mask off and pointing at Michael with it. “I followed you out here because you’re a big fucking idiot who can’t seem to realize that two fights does not make a friendship with his hero!”

Silence. Silence except for the city bustling below, completely unaware of the confrontation above them. Silence except for Jeremy’s heavy breathing. Silence except for the wind blowing past the windows of the buildings and bringing a chill.

It didn’t last long.

“Jeremy?” Michael squeaked out, taking a step back. “Jeremy.” He said again, clearing his throat and making sure it was really what he saw.

Jeremy lowered his hand back to his side, gripping the mask like his life depended on it. Tears prickled at the edges of his eyes and it was not because there was something in his eye. He kept his gaze on Michael.

“Take it in.” He whispered out. “Your best friend is your crush and it’s not what you wanted.”

“No,” Michael rushed over, cupping Jeremy’s cheeks in his hands. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!” He took a deep breath, wiping at the tears with his thumbs. “It’s you. You, my sweet Jeremy. I couldn’t ask for anyone else.”

“It would have been better.”

“No, it would not have.” He argued, smiling. “Because I like you as much as I expressed when I talked about Spiderman. I knew that both were unreachable. But, look at you,” he chuckled. “You’re a queer icon, even if it’s only to me.”

Jeremy watched Michael for a few more seconds before pulling Michael into a hug and burying his head into his shoulder. Michael moved enough to be able to hug him back.

“I really like you, Michael.” He mumbled against his skin. “I really like you and sometimes it scares me how much I do.”

“Then, if you’re okay with it,” Michael pulled away enough to look Jeremy in the eyes. “We can go on a date or two?"

“Are you asking me out?”

“Yes.”

Jeremy grinned, letting it grow the longer he looked at Michael. He pulled him back until their noses touched. “I will gladly go out with y-”

He paused, turning his face up to the sky. He started to giggle causing Michael to look up, too. It had started to snow.

“Better late than never.” Jeremy whispered out. He took the glove off his hand to be able to catch some of the snow.

“You’re as white as the snow.” Michael teased. Jeremy only looked at him and stuck out his tongue.

“Blame my white boy genes.”

So, the hero got with the love interest. A perfect love story. It only took a month before Michael started to realize how imperfect their perfect love story was. Jeremy was the hero, yes, but he was also the traumatized one.

It was at lunch one afternoon. The two had their spot in the basement under the theater classroom. It was used as storage for props and costumes galore. Back when when they had a working theater department, that is. Neither of them were sure why all the stuff remained after all this time.

Jeremy had been working on something for his electronics class. He was always one to be frustrated easily but now it was even worse than Michael thought. He was so used to being able to do anything that now that he could not do one small thing, he got more frustrated than Michael had ever seen before.

In a pit of pure rage and fury, Jeremy got up and threw the device against the back wall. He breathed heavily as he stared at the broken pieces, expecting that it would put itself back together. Michael had grabbed him and sat him in his lap, holding him as he cried for hours on end.

It broke Michael’s heart seeing it happen. More so when he found out that it was a normal thing and that it happened weekly. What made it even worse was the fact that Michael couldn’t do anything to help. No matter what he said, Jeremy still went out in the suit. No matter what he said, he’d come home looking like shit only to want to do it again. It was a revolving door. Jeremy was in and out just like a revolving door.

All Michael wanted to do was help him and he couldn’t even seem to do that.

Jeremy had been sipping at his tea before bed and at the table when his dad got home. He looked like a wreck from work and seeing Jeremy sitting there, happy as he could ever be, made it worse. He walked over slowly, grabbing his son’s hand gently and telling him straight.

“Michael’s gone missing."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dear Ice, my brotp partner,
> 
> ily ;) enjoy the last of this its been one hell of a ride

Okay, Mell, this is it. If you just run from this edge of the building to the other and jump off the ledge at exactly the right moment, you’ll make it. Of course, that’s if you are able to get the jump right. If you don’t, it’s game over. Game over is no good.

Of course, it would be no good if you could die. That’s a whole different thing. If he made it, it would be wonderful in all of its glory. Maybe if he did it’d help him finally beat that jump and shove it in Jeremy’s face.

Though, he really doubts that making a jump in real life would help him in a video game. Thinking that also distracted him from actually making the jump. Hitting the concrete with a loud thud, he sighed, staring up at the sky. He was hoping that no one saw him. That’d be a hard one to explain.

Oh, yes, the new vigilante in town. Yeah, Deadpool. He can’t die and just fell from a ten story building and landed on the concrete ground in an alley.

“Now, you may be wondering how I got here.”

He sighed, closing his eyes for a few short moments before pulling out his phone. Jeremy had texted him asking where he went. He had been like that for weeks now.  
“I was so desperate to help Jeremy that I was an idiot.” He mumbled, shutting his phone off. He took a deep breath before closing his eyes again.

“After Jeremy and I got together, it seemed sudden. I had learned he was the biggest news story of the century in the same ten minutes and it wasn’t very pleasant. Evidence a, the only one really, was the fact that it seemed so cool on the surface. Underneath was the fact that Jeremy was being eaten away by responsibility. I wanted to help and I could not do that without changing. I could not stop superhuman powers unless I had them. That was my first mistake.

“So I got in league with people you’d be too scared to approach during the night. One thing led to another and I was stuck in some facility. There they tortured me beyond belief. Not only torture but attempted mind control.

“I got out, not after having some serious damage dealt. I remember wandering through the streets and up the fire escape, stumbling as I went. I got to Jeremy’s window, knocked, and was so happy to see him there. The cheeky smile I gave him before passing out was glorious, apparently.

“‘Michael,’ Jeremy had said to me. He was so worried but still so angry with me. ‘Where did you go?’

“‘Nowhere.’ I always responded, getting a small grunt from him as he mumbled about all the things he wished I would tell him. He immediately took me to see my moms. I remember their crying faces after seeing their son after two weeks. Up and gone. We were lucky it was during winter break.

“Now, I didn’t think that the whole situation did much until I was walking home from 7-11 one night. God, things always happen when I go so late. Jeremy was home and I knew that. I made sure he was home for one night. That meant that Jeremy could not save the lady being attacked in the alley.

“So I did it and got shot. I sat down, ready to die, only to watch the hole in my leg heal back.

“‘What the hell?’

“That was suddenly a thing. I poked at my leg, knowing very well that seconds ago it felt like I was dying. Then I got up with whatever courage I had left and punched the guy straight in the nose. Adrenaline kicked in, only to help me end up getting my ass kicked. The woman ran off during the fight, luckily.

“When I got home, I laid on my bed for hours. My mothers came in and out to check on me when the morning came around. Later that day, my decision was solidified after seeing Jeremy, beat up and sneaking into my window so he didn’t scare his dad. I helped clean him up and got him to sleep before heading out to the fabric store.

“A week later, I was out there and doing what was needed. Two more and that leaves me here.”

Michael took a deep breath, looking up to the adjusting sky. The sun was close to setting. Just like in the comics, that was when the dark parts of the city came alive.

He groaned as he stood up and rubbed against a spot where the fabric of his suit was missing. He’d have to replace that as soon as he could. He would do it now, but he also needed to be able to buy the fabric. His mom had taken it from his room and said it was for a sewing project. Michael had originally told her that the fabric was for a school project.

Another deep breath before he looked at the street.

“Just another day on the job.”

And he stuffed his hands into his pockets, whistling as he walked away from the lights and slipped into the darkness.

Thwip.

Jeremy was done with everything. His side was badly hurt. It just so happened to have been cut open and was bleeding out as he swung up onto the roof of his apartment building. He knew he should have gone back home, but the roof certainly felt more homely. His dad and him weren’t exactly on good terms right now.

He shakily reached up, ripped the mask off his face and threw it into the dirt as he sat down with his back against the air conditioning unit. He winced as he hit the ground, taking a few deep breaths to recover the best he could.

Why was he being so stupid? He needed to treat his wound. He needed to go home and clean it up. How would he explain this to his dad? Or the point that Jeremy was a superhero? Michael took it well but of course he worried endlessly.

Well, what did Michael know anymore? He disappeared on Jeremy and came back like nothing happened. Michael has already shown Jeremy that he does not care about him anymore.

“You should be more careful.”

Jeremy jolted up, his skeleton practically leaving his body behind as he stared at the other. They stayed like that for a good few seconds before he even grabbed his mask. When he did, he pulled it on clumsily and only drew laughter from the other. It wasn’t until now that Jeremy recognized him as the one and only Deadpool.

“I’ve already seen you, kid. No need to hide your face.”

Jeremy watched as Deadpool sat down on a crate in front of him. They made eye contact in complete and tense silence.

“So, if you’re so young, why do you do this? You look like you’re fifteen. M-”

“I’m not fifteen.” Jeremy grumbled, sitting back down and ripping his mask back off. He pointed it at Deadpool with it in his hand. “What about you?”

“Oh no,” he motioned to his face. “I’ve got this whole distraction to humanity that is my whole face and skin. You’d recognize me in a heartbeat on the street.”

“Oh really?” Jeremy did not look convinced. “That’s a terrible excuse!”

“It isn’t an excuse!”

Jeremy sighed, looking up at the sky. “It’s alright, I guess. I know what you mean.”

Silence. Pure silence for minutes on end. Jeremy could not even go a minute without thinking about Michael. Despite being so angry, he wished he could just show up at his window and ask him if he wanted to go get a slushie or two.

Oh right, another thing he really had to work on. Michael and his relationship. After everything that has happened, are they really still dating? Or maybe it’s been abandoned long ago with all of Michael’s free time.

And if Jeremy was smart, which he was certainly not, he would have realized the same pattern that he had when he started to be a superhero. There’s also the point that Michael never seemed to be around when some big battle or whatever was going on downtown. Or whenever it ended, he was always missing when Jeremy came home to patch up.

But every battle that Michael was missing for, Deadpool had a large presence. Large presence and a large mouth.

Jeremy hated him the second he opened his mouth.

“Say,” Jeremy lowered his head again and glared at the other, who did not seem to care whatsoever. “How’d you even get your powers?”

“What? Are we exchanging origin stories now?” Jeremy mocked, only to make Deadpool laugh.

“You’re hilarious, kid! Bet your best friend Michael would be proud of that one!”

Jeremy sat up and glared even more, causing alarms to go off in both of their heads.

“How the utter living fuck do you know who Michael is?” Jeremy leaned towards him aggressively.

“Relax, Jere-”

“How the fuck do you know my name?” He leaned forward even more. “Or who the fuck Michael is?”

They both went silent. There seemed to be no oxygen in the thick atmosphere they sat in. No one dared to move. It was almost as if their energy was zapped out of their muscles (something probably possible in the reality they lived it, let’s be honest here). It stayed that way until Jeremy picked his mask back up and shoved it over his face before walking towards the edge of the building. Deadpool got up and followed him before noticing the cut on his side.

“You should get that c-”

“Stop talking about something that is not your business for once!” Jeremy growled, turning back to face the other. “Or just in general! Shut your mouth before you talk it off and get yourself killed. Just some advice.”

And with that Jeremy left, swinging off into the city and ignoring the constant stinging in his side. Deadpool, or Michael at this point, just stood there, his mouth hanging open. The second he was sure Jeremy was out of view, he pulled off his own mask and threw it to the ground. He stomped on it, then stomped again. He kept stomping until his first sob tore out of his throat.

After that it did not get any better. If anything, it kept going downhill at a hundred miles per hour.

The next day there seemed to be a disconnect between the two. Jeremy was normally distant, yes, it was part of his personality. But, now it was worse. For Michael, his friend was not only an ocean away but also many, many miles into the land and growing. Not only that but Jeremy appeared at school far less often.

That problem did not just stay at school, though. Michael had meant to hang out with Jeremy one night, or attempt to, only to stop at the window to their living room and eavesdrop. It was hard not to.

“What’s been up with you lately, Jeremiah?” Slam. Papers were thrown onto the table. “Your attendance? Your grades? Check the other paper! They’re threatening to kick you out if you don’t get your act together by the end of January!”

Jeremy did not say anything, which only seemed to make it worse.

“What about here, too? You’re always disappearing and so is Michael a-and his moms are as worried as I am! Neither of them know where the two of you go! I don’t even know!”

“We go out for slushies.”

“For hours on end and coming back damaged? That doesn’t sound like a slushie trip! The scars, Jeremiah! Your wrists! A-And your back! What the hell is happening to you? Don’t get me started on Michael! That isn’t even my place to talk, but it seems connected!”

“Scuffles with the law.”

“What do you mean ‘scuffles with the law’? That makes no sense! You shouldn’t be getting in trouble with them! You’re supposed to be a good kid!”

“I am a good kid!”

“Well actions speak louder than words do, Jeremiah!”

“Well my actions have spoken much louder but to explain them to you is a configuration of words I haven’t figured out yet!”

“Then figure it out!”

With the wind blowing in Michael’s ears outside he could barely hear the heavy breathing coming from both Heeres inside. The sound of a chair sliding back and the stomps leaving the room were as loud as ever. Even louder was the anguish left with Jeremy’s father. Michael took a deep breath, watching for mere seconds before finding himself uncomfortable. He was not supposed to see that.

He almost did not want to go and visit Jeremy. He had to, though. If he did not, Jeremy would race back out into the wilderness that was their city. He would get hurt and left in some alley to bleed until he found it enough pain to be able to go back home.

Jeremy was driving himself mad with the idea of heroism. It is never like the television shows or the movies. Heroism is not a gift. Courage is not a savior. Bravery is something to be despised. Without fear, death would ensue.

Jeremy was just like most of the teenagers of his time, convinced he could never die because he was young. And he was not. He was young and living as ever but the scars were too much to handle. He was not meant to be an adult so early.

So Michael went home and put on the radio to forget the world.

I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation

You're living in the past it's a new generation-

“The engine is faltering, we should pull over.”

Six months ago, everything was not as rushed as it was around town. Sure, it was still rushed as New York was. Nothing could ever match that pace except the people who lived there, and with each passing day it only got faster. With the sudden appearance of super powered people, it only got quicker than before. Not only that, but it got dangerous, and not only the city but the world soon realized the extent of what the human mind could create.

But six months ago was six months ago. The only idea of a Spiderman was in comic books and media, never in person. If there were anyone with powers, they were not out there and it would only be with the arrival of Spiderman that they would come out of hiding.

Along a windy road, trees covered any views into the woods beside the cars. Ahead and behind were the only areas to look except for the stray gas station. With the moon came the rain and the only shelter around offered little light.

A woman and man, forced out of the station’s minimart after it had to close due to a power outage, stood under the overhanging roof in front of their broken down car. If the roof was not enough, the woman insisted on using a stray newspaper to hold over her head just in case. The man was trying any option possible to reach someone without bothering the working man inside.

It was a miracle when the power suddenly came on, just as if their God blessed them to be safe from the ancient power that stirred around them. The man working inside leaned up in curiosity from his spot near the back. He had not even touched a single wire.

And out it went, a snapshot in the history of the earth. With it went any hope for any light or power. The woman of the couple was getting more worried by the second. Not only would the power of the gas station come back but so did their car. Her husband did not seem to notice.

It happened again in a snap. But this time, the blue squares coming up from the ground were more prevalent. With another came the realization about the small bumps coming from the ground, just like an earthquake. Even the rain and clouds seemed to dissipate to escape the wrath of whatever deity would come along to bring the end.

And with the arrival of the sun at midnight, the cubes started to float and multiply. The rumbling grew to a steady rate as the center of the parking lot caved in. Up came the cubes, now not only blue but white. A storm roared from the very ground itself.

With a blink of an eye, something was released to the human world from deep within the earth. Despite destruction coming to the area and death to the three people inside, the man left the mortal world with a smile.

And the music started again.

A girl can do what she wants to do and that's

What I'm gonna do

An' I don't give a damn ' bout my bad reputation

“Turn down that music before we get a noise complaint, Mihail!”

Jeremy turned down the music for Michael, being much closer to the radio than the other was. “Your mom still calls you Mihail?”

It had been a few weeks since the fight between Jeremy and his dad. Michael and him had drifted together again but both knew it would be too good to be true later on, when they drift apart again.

“Of course she does, she’s my mother.” He chuckled and continued to scroll on his phone until a random thought popped into his head. “Do you remember Richard Goranski?”

“Short guy from chemistry last year?”

“Yeah, that one.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “Do you even know what happened to him? He just did not show up for school this year.”

“Michael, do you seriously not remember? There was a whole school rumor about how it happened. Gas station, remember?”

“His parents are dead. Yeah, I remember. I’m letting the kid mourn but still, has anyone got a clue to where he is or doing?”

“Last time I checked he got an internship at LODA because his dad worked there.”

“And this is why I love you. You stalk so many people that you know all the gossip.”

“I don’t stalk.”

“What happened to the Christine thing?”

“You happened.”

Michael snorted as he read through an article. “Speaking of gas stations, look like another place caved in. Down at the waterfront this time.”

“You think they’re connected?”

“You tell me. You’re the superhero.”

Silence. It was not as common as it used to be. Despite being close, there were still gaps that seemed impossible to cross. That comment only burned a bridge Michael was trying to cross and forced him to cross a different one to get to the checkpoint. Soon he would be at the final boss, just like a video game.

Michael wished that life was just a video game. If he messed up, he could just reload his last save. He’d be immortal due to saving. Did he really want to live in that world? Would it be worth it to get a happy ending?

It would not. Michael was smart enough to see this. Jeremy was not.

“Sorry-”

“No need to apologize.”

“But-”

“I said there was no need to apologize. It’s not a big deal.”

“Jeremy, I know it’s been rough lately and I don’t-”

“Then don’t talk about it!”

They locked eyes, staring at each other intensely for different reasons. Jeremy was glaring, completely angry with Michael, while the other was staring in shock. It was not the first time Jeremy has snapped and Michael knew it was far from being the last.

Michael did not need his friend’s opinions to think there had to be something going on with the cave ins. His gut was telling him something bad was coming and it was not just Jeremy’s complete mental breakdown. If he was honest, he would tell Jeremy he already thought that happened. But, no matter what he could tell Jeremy, he would still head out every night. It went from a stress reliever to the source of the stress.

Next week came and went. So did the next month before anything happened. Spring greeted New York with slightly warmer weather but the ground was still coated in a cold layer of snow waiting to melt. Each passing minute also brought with it the slow tumble of Jeremy falling into his own thoughts.

In other words, he got reckless, and the only thing stopping him was the person he hated the most, Deadpool. Not only were the newspapers taking their eyes off of Spiderman, they were also starting to shame him for his behavior. That only made it worse.

Somewhere in that time, another cave in occured. It was clockwork with the timer slowly counting down to each moment. In each one, a scientist from LODA died. Michael’s wall above his desk was covered in newspaper clippings and red string just like you would see in some mystery movie. Or a Superhero one. He would be okay with that.

“What the hell is that?”

Michael’s head shot to his window to see Jeremy coming inside.

“Do you remember the cave in stuff?”

“Jesus Christ, are you seriously looking into those?”

“Yes, I am!” Michael chuckled nervously as he motioned to the maps of New York that he had. The three spots were circled in red marker.

“M-”

“Hear me out.” Michael interrupted and motioned for him to take a seat on his bed. Jeremy hesitated before sitting down and crossing his arms. He stared up at the board. “Okay, so-”

“Why are they circled?”

“Don’t ask questions! I’ve barely started.”

“It’s in my nature.”

“Just-ugh-Shut up! For five minutes. That’s all I need.”

“Al-”

“Ah! No talking!” Michael motioned to the first map. “This map shows the city streets and everything right? While,” he pointed to the other map, “This map shows the cave systems of the area. The red circles are the same spots where the three events happened. As you see,” he motioned to the second map, “There aren’t any caves under any of those ideas. But,” he pulled out another map and pinned it to his wall in the middle. He circled the three areas. “There are sewer systems under them.”

“So?”

“There’s a monster in the sewers.”

“And?”

“LODA made it.”

“You’re crazy.”

“O-Or making it. I’m not sure which yet.”

Jeremy took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. “I think you’re crazy, Michael.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time, now would it?” Michael asked, smirking as he waited for Jeremy’s response. When it did not come, he took the opportunity. “You called me crazy when I said that you should play D&D with me but you loved it.”

“That’s not the same as some evil monster in the sewers.”

“Bet I could find it in the Monster Manual.”

Jeremy groaned and fell back on the bed. “I came over to have a break.”

“Then have one.”

Michael turned back to looking at his maps. No thoughts ran through his head except asking himself what he should make for dinner. It seemed useless until his cravings declined at the thought of some chaotic evil monster eating up humanoids for dinner. Even the thought of pizza made him want to puke now.

He sat down but kept his gaze fixed on the middle map. Not that he was suddenly paying attention again, but that it gave him that sense that he was supposed to stare at it. Then it hit him. He suddenly got up, startling Jeremy as he grabbed a blue pen and stared harder.

“What?”

“I saw something but I can’t quite-” he followed the sewer from one of the red circles all the way to a four way intersection of pipes. He found the street corner it was at and looked at the other map to find where it was. “Bingo.”

Jeremy got up, crossing his arms as he peered over Michael’s shoulder as best as he could. “What is it?”

Michael did the same for the other two locations only to end up in the same position. He then took the time to mark out the paths with the blue marker. He moved over for Jeremy to see.

“Each of the locations leads straight back to where I told you I thought was the cause.” He took a deep breath. “Each are the end of their track.”

Michael then stepped back up, following the fourth path while using his other hand to find a different marker. Jeremy quickly grabbed the green and handed it over. Michael then circled not one, but three places.

“If there is a fourth place, it’ll be in one of those places.” He glanced back at Jeremy. “I’m sure of it.”

Jeremy looked over the map before taking a few deep breaths. “You have any idea when the next one will happen?”

“So, you believe me?”

“Maybe.” He glanced up at Michael before back to the middle map. “You can never be sure about what to believe these days.”

“Why does that sound like something Jeremiah Heere would say?”

Jeremy glared up at Michael’s smirking face. “I can’t believe you.”

Michael took Jeremy’s waist and brought him closer. “I can’t believe you.” He repeated, mocking Jeremy slightly as he swayed.

“Are you trying to dance with me?” Jeremy kept his feet planted on the carpet.

Michael grabbed Jeremy’s free hand in his and let his smirk turn to a large smile. “Of course.”

“Really?”

Michael kept swaying. “Have you never danced before?”

“Yes, I have.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Jeremy puffed out his cheeks and attempted to get away, only to get pulled closer to Michael. Michael kept swaying and smiling, staring down in Jeremy’s eyes. In that moment, Jeremy truly forgot about any responsibility forced upon him. He felt like a teenager for the first time in months.

Teenagers take risks without thought or hesitation and Jeremy, in that second, did not care about not being able to dance. He did not care about stepping on Michael’s toes or that no music was found to find a rhythm to. He did not care about anything in the world except for one person, not even himself.

For the first time in a while, he cared about Michael without thinking that he would hurt him. With a smile, he swayed with Michael. They both, for a few, priceless moments, cried and laughed without care nor boundaries. It was natural, raw, and nostalgic.

“You’re stepping on my toes.” Michael whispered without taking his eyes away from Jeremy’s. Jeremy only giggled.

“I don’t care.” Jeremy said, shaking his head. “I’m terrible at this.”

They both laughed as Michael spoke. “Does it really matter?”

“I don’t think so. I don’t have to be good at everything.”

“I think you’d find your way.” Michael said. “But, I do agree with you there.”

For those precious moments, there was no anger or worrying to be found. The moonlight was hidden under the light of Michael’s lamp but it seemed to dance with them. The giggles that came from Jeremy’s mouth as Michael twirled him around echoed in Michael’s mind. Not only had it been so long since Jeremy was truly happy, it was like that for Michael too.

“I think I love you, Jeremy.”

“You think you do?”

“Nevermind.”

“Huh?"

“I know.”

Teenagers, hopelessly in love. In a few seconds, a pair of boys can go from dangerously teetering on the edge of sanity to calm. From hurricane level storm winds to simple and complete. It seemed like there was nothing left in the world. Jeremy and Michael were the only ones in a world of white.

It was relieving and they were reliving a time before superheroes and villains. They were back in Jeremy’s room, playing a game and unable to make a simple jump. To them back then, that was frustrating. So minuscule. From being able to reload a save file to being taken to the hospital on a single jump.

That jump was to adulthood and they were the ones sitting on the edge. They had already decided to jump but they were inches away. They were falling while convincing themselves that they were hanging off the edge of the first building, that they were only dipping their toes in.

They did not know how much they missed it until they were back there.

After dancing for hours, they crashed on Michael’s bed. Without a computer screen flashing a game over screen against their faces as they slept, it seemed empty. Jeremy’s grip was tight on Michael’s shirt, not daring to let go for a blink during the night. But, even with that, he was gone in the morning.

Michael was alone once again with his D&D manuals and books galore, without the person he held closest. If they were dipping their toes in, he was just splashed with the cold water of reality. He could not live in that fantasy world if he did not save Jeremy first.

He took a deep breath and got out of bed to suit up. Something was different. When he did it, it felt like it would be the last time he would do it. He got chills as he heard the leather shift on his gloves. Even the air smelled different.

He even felt as if he should leave a note to his mothers telling them about everything. It felt like the end and yesterday night was the eye of the storm, only the rest of the storm would be much worse than the first half. Little did he know, Jeremy felt the same way.

Some days, Michael really wished he ended up like Jeremy with his spider powers. He did not have an easy commute. Taxis cost so much and he only had so much money. Plus, being a known masked face was not the best for rides. The driver always asked so many questions but they did tend to take shortcuts, losing money but helping one of the local superheroes. Could Michael even be considered a superhero? Could Jeremy be considered a superhero?

With this day and age technology, Michael also seemed out of place for carrying a map with him. Well, a picture of his map at home. If anything, one of his moms would see that and call him to question it when he did not come home by his curfew.

It was later that night when Michael had finally figured something out. He sat, overlooking the street below, when he was looking over his maps again. He had taken plenty of pictures but not in a moment’s notice did he see that the three spots that the pipe could end were not easy targets. Three buildings, tall and narrow, stood above them. Meanwhile all the other locations were uncovered.

Maybe his mystery monster, whatever it was, was not strong enough?

“What are you doing here?”

Michael turned his head to see Jeremy, no Spiderman, suit and all. He was not Jeremy at that moment. He took a deep breath. Jeremy always had a thing about sneaking up on Michael. It was not just the persona Jeremy had created for himself.

“Awaiting the end!” He laughed, slapping his knee. “What about you?”

Jeremy seemed unamused. “Doing my job.”

“Take a seat with me, will you?” Michael swung his legs over the edge with a giant grin. “I don’t believe there is much time to wait.”

“What are you waiting for?”

“I don’t know. But,” he patted the spot next to him, “I’ve got a good feeling it’ll be the end of something.”

Jeremy hesitated before sighing and sitting down next to him. “So you don’t know?”

“Not a clue!” Michael snorted as he leaned back. He pointed to the LODA building, standing tall and just in view. “Got a feeling, though.”

“God, how many of you believe that?”

“Hm?”

“First Michael and now you. Sometimes,” he glanced over, examining Michael’s features and tried to imagine what he looked like under the mask, “I think you two are the same person.”

“Sorry kid, there’s no way I’m that little friend of yours.”

Jeremy nodded. “I know.” He paused. “How did you know who I was?”

“I’ve seen you around.”

“How about my name?”

“You look like a Jeremy.”

Jeremy gawked before looking away. “Seriously?”

“Hell yeah. Have you never noticed?”

“Of course I look like a Jeremy to myself because that’s all I’ve ever been.”

“Nothing else?” Michael turned towards him, clearly concerned. It was his turn to study Jeremy’s mask only for a different reason.

“I’ve only ever been Jeremy. That’s it.”

“What about Spiderman?”

Jeremy sighed. “As much as I love it, it’s almost seems wrong. At first, it wasn’t bad. But now?” He took a deep breath. “I just want to watch the whole costume burn one night while cuddling the boy I love.”

“Michael?” Michael guessed.

“Michael.”

“Jeremy, d-does he know?”

Jeremy nodded before looking up to the sky. “I wish I didn’t tell him. He’s so worried that he’s probably done stupid things over it.”

“You think he would put himself through torture to be able to fight by your side?”

Jeremy’s head shot back. Their eyes met but neither could tell. “What?”

“Do you?”

In that second, everything changed. Not only did Michael’s voice crack, showing Jeremy a weakness he had never seen in Deadpool, but the sky cleared completely. The stars and moon illuminated them in full view.

If they were still in the eye of the storm, it lasted for another breath before the sky erupted. Michael’s balance failed, causing him to fall off the edge, only for Jeremy to catch him with a web in the knick of time. They both scrambled away from the edge and stared up.

In the sky, an ocean of stars was turned into a black hole of blue and green. Almost pixel-like, whatever portal above started to leak downwards.

“We need to get there.” Michael took a deep breath. He turned to Jeremy who offered him his hand.

“You won’t get there in time if I don’t take you with me.” Jeremy pushed his hand out to Michael more. “So, come on!”

“It’s a two player game.” Michael whispered as he grabbed Jeremy’s hand. Jeremy most definitely heard it.

“You don’t just think that, Michael.” Jeremy smiled. “You know.”

Michael hung close to Jeremy, closing his eyes as Jeremy swung them off. Even after all these months, neither were over their fear of heights.

“How are you so smart?” Jeremy asked as he landed and put Michael down. Michael, if he had not been filled with adrenaline, would have collapsed right there. “LODA.” He tapped Michael’s shoulder and pointed to the building in front of him.

“It’s the end.”

“For them and not the human race as we know it.” Jeremy kept his smile as he looked to Michael. “Not four but three. Unless you count that as the fourth.”

“We don’t have a plan, Jere.” Michael choked out as he grabbed Jeremy’s shoulder for support. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t think either of us have ever had plans.”

“That’s our trick, then. We’re always outplanned.”

They stared at each other for a second before Michael smiled with him.

“Let’s go.”

And with that, Jeremy swung them into the top floor of the building. Michael kept his eyes open this time and looked down to the street below just as Jeremy had with looking up at it long ago. This was the start and the end as well as the start of the end.

Inside, it was chaotic. The second the sky had opened, everyone had rushed out in a panic. Papers were everywhere and alarms were blaring, experiments were not properly cleaned up afterwards, test rodents scurried around without fear, and every elevator and stairwell had clearly been heavily used. It was lifeless in a way.

Michael took a deep breath, unsheathing a sword as he walked ahead of Jeremy. The silence was deafening to both of them. It alluded to a boss soon to arrive. The two of them had played enough video games to know that.

Ding.

“Why did I expect you two to come?”

Stopping in their tracks, they both looked to the man who came out of the elevator. Short in stature but seemingly pumped to the brim with muscles. His build looked uneven, especially with the face and hair of a rooster.

Michael and Jeremy both knew this face. From childhood bully to seemingly super villain. They could practically hear the theme music begin. Michael’s head went straight into the final fight against Ganondorf in Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess while Jeremy went to the same battle but from Wind Waker as they stared apon Richard Goranski.

“Cops are coming from the station, but you two are apparently the ‘real deal.’”

Michael, at this point, was surprised to see Jeremy stay still. Usually, he would have had him tied up and being pulled away by the cops. But, of course, there had to be something. Maybe this is just like a video game.

Michael expected Rich to start blabbering right then and there, and he was right.

“No words? I thought you,” Rich pointed at Michael, “Were famous for being talkative? Were the rumors wrong?”

“I think I want to shove this up your ass.” Michael tightened his grip on his handle and watched the other carefully. Jeremy still kept quiet like he was waiting for something to happen.

Rich cackled, witch-like in nature. “Really?”

“Really.”

“I’d advise you to wait a while. I’m not the guy you want. The guy,” he only cackled more as he spoke, “You want is coming from up there!” He pointed up at the ceiling. “For God has come for Judgement Day.”

“You’re insane.” Jeremy spat. His eyes narrowed, staring down the boy. “What about your parents? They died because of this.”

“My father discovered something,” Rich smiled maniacally. “And it was beautiful.”

And with that, the pixels started to eat away at the roof, quickly creating a hole. All three of them moved back and away from the path that was being created. The windows shattered, shooting out shards of glass. Michael grabbed Jeremy in the nick of time and sheltered him until it ended. They both looked up at Rich again to see his eyes glowing the same blue found in old side scrollers when pixels were not as tiny as they are now.

“God is right here on Earth!” Rich yelled, hair and lab coat flapping with the wind. “Under the ground! And he! He is not as forgiving as people are led to believe!”

Michael furrowed his eyebrows as he watched Rich smirk up at the sky. The pixels kept digging down until they hit the middle floor, seemingly meeting up with another set. There, they collided, smashing any and all glass left over. Michael would not be surprised if what he just heard was a sonic boom.

Jeremy stumbled next to him, grabbing his left ear before looking up to stare at the creation forming in front of their eyes. If the boss theme music had not started earlier, the roar of the newly formed monster in front of them would have cranked the music to full volume immediately.

It was just like something out of a video game. Hair like yarn standing on its edge from all the static, skin a bright, neon blue with smoke coming off of it just like liquid nitrogen. Its eyes were only black holes with numbers scrolling through like a computer screen. Its grotesque form jolted and moved unnaturally.

“May I,” Rich took a deep breath as he stared upon his creation. “Present to you the God of our world.”

With the strike of midnight ringing through New York, a cry came from the beast. To Michael, this was no God but an amalgamation of technology. If anything, this was a blight brought to life in the world.

The numbers in its eyes disappeared and Rich’s laughter only grew louder from behind it. “A God that can be controlled! And today,” his laughter was mimicked by the beast. “Is the end! For it is now Judgement Day!”

And the beast, as if it was in invisible chains, broke free and roared, forcing Rich to fall back. He looked up at his creation with fear in his eyes as it formed a spear and stabbed down into Rich’s shoulder. The screams were pitiful compared to the music in Michael’s head and the ringing of Jeremy’s ear.

“It’s out of control.” Michael muttered, tightening his grip as he stepped forward. His chuckle and obvious, goofy grin threw Jeremy off guard. “That only makes it more fun.”

Jeremy could not get a word in before Michael ran up to the edge. He looked up at the monster and the pieces of the roof that were still intact. He took a deep breath and shot a web before reaching for Michael’s hand.

“I can get you higher up! I shoot the eyes, you jump and stab! Alright?”

Michael took his hand, letting him fling them up three stories. “I thought we were going without a plan?”

“There’s no reloading a save file anymore, Michael!”

Michael only smiled as he stared down at the beast. “Then we’ll have to do our best the first time.”

If anything, it went from final boss battle music back to the songs that would play on his radio for Michael. His favorites all jumbled around in his head with conflicting guitar solos that still seemed to all work together from one set of lyrics to another. He gave Jeremy a thumbs up.

“Get going, Spider boy.”

Jeremy only glared before swinging him up to a better location. At this point, the monster had found them and declared its new prey. Michael barely had time to move behind a desk before the spear came down next to him. The electricity moved like it was alive, edging towards Michael. He took the time to run.

He slid behind the next desk and watched the computer at the desk he was just at burst into flames. Great, the electricity was overpowering the computers. He could not stay in the same place for long. Leaning around the corner, he watched as the beast moved, keeping one eye on him and the other on Jeremy as he flung around looking for an opening.

Michael ran and slide behind another desk and took a deep breath. He needed to clear the way for Jeremy. He needed to get the full attention of the boss. He needed to do something that took so much courage that it would be stripped from his bones. Would it be worth it?

He could feel his phone buzzing. It was one of his mothers or possibly Jeremy’s father, asking if they were okay. He could not possibly answer, not his phone nor that question. He did not even know if he was going to be alive by morning to be able to go home to his moms.

He did not want to do that to them after all of this. So, he took another deep breath, shakier than the last. He willed the wobble out of his legs and stepped out in the aisle and stared down the beast with such intensity that he was scared of himself.

And with all the power in him, he smirked. “Hey, bitch!”

Nothing. He took another deep breath, watching the spear in the corner of his eye.

“Leave my boyfriend alone!”

It was worth the shot he gave it. As much as the eyes stayed locked on the two of them, its body could only face one way. As it raised its spear, the courage only grew in Michael. He rolled back behind the desk and watched as the spear crashed down into the floor again. He smiled, stepping out and slashing at it with his sword. As much as it looked solid, it was a pure gas. An illusion.

Despite all of this, it seemed very intrigued with him. Seconds seemed like minutes, like there was some quick time event going on and Michael was supposed to be slamming a finger down on the A button or the B button or spinning around the left joystick. Without direction, he had no idea.

That’s when the laser struck down and Jeremy had to save him once again. Just like every time before, Jeremy had to save him even when the laser struck through some of his flesh. For once, he did not feel the familiar stinging of his healing power.

Jeremy dropped them on a different level and took a deep breath. Michael only smiled under the mask. “Now’s your chance.”

Michael got up and grabbed the desk to his left, too afraid of using his right hand. Good thing he was left handed. He watched Jeremy look back. He could sense the smirk as he raced forward and started to swing around again. Just like they planned, he got easy targets on the eyes.

Once they were covered and the boss was blinded, Michael ran. It started as a slow, a fatigued walk that turned into a confident sprint. For once, he did not care about the height he was at, for he knew Jeremy would catch him if he fell.

He landed, stabbing down his sword into one of the eyes. The creature let out a pained screech and flung its head around to knock Michael off. Jeremy caught him, assisting his land on a floor before smiling. He landed next to him, looked at the monster, and unsheathed the other sword from Michael’s back.

“It will start and end at the same place.” Jeremy muttered softly. It was obvious that he did not know how to hold or handle the sword he had in his hands but he pretended he did with confidence.

“Jeremy-”

Jeremy charged without thought, flinging himself onto the face of the beast and stabbing the sword down in the other eye. Seconds were longer as Michael stared at the sight. With a single exhale, the music seemed to stop.

Michael ran to the edge only to see the monster starting to fall. Jeremy sent a web up and caught himself. They both, standing or hanging, watched as it fell down the seemingly endless hole. After making sure everything was okay, Jeremy swung to where Michael was.

“Why was that so easy?” Michael asked quietly, looking over at Jeremy as he took his mask off and shook the sweat out of his hair. Michael did the same, chuckling softly but stopped as soon as he noticed how much Jeremy’s left ear was bleeding. Definite damage there.

Jeremy never answered his question. “Your hand!” He grabbed Michael’s right wrist carefully and looked over the wound. His whole pinky finger was missing.

“I think Count Rugen stole one of my fingers.” Michael joked, speaking louder than he had the other time. Jeremy chuckled, smiling as he looked up at Michael’s face.

“How are you joking about that?”

“You’re the one laughing!” Michael laughed along with him. He carefully took Jeremy’s hands in his own. “I always loved your laugh.”

“You fools!”

The moment was ruined. Richard stumbled closer. His arm was missing and he had a gun in the other hand.

“God will not forgive you for this!”

Jeremy sighed, shooting a web over and taking the gun from his hands. Michael started to walk towards him, a smile still plastered on his face. Rich went from confident to fearful as he backed up. They kept going like this until Rich was right in front of the window.

Michael whispered to him. “Your God does not exist.”

One more step forward and Rich fell. Michael closed his eyes, grabbing the wall so he did not fall with the arrival of the wind. Jeremy rushed over, grabbing him and pulling him away from the edge.

“Michael,” his voice was quiet and soft. Following the trend from earlier, Jeremy probably could not hear it himself. He sat them down where there was not much glass. “It’s okay, you can open your eyes.”

He did and looked right up into Jeremy’s. He took a deep breath and kissed him. Soft, long, and a bit bloody but enjoyable nonetheless. Both of them forgot for a few moments where they even were or what just happened or even what their names were.

When Michael pulled away, he still kept close. He pressed his forehead against Jeremy’s and let their noses touch. He took a deep breath, keeping his eyes closed.

“Who ever needs to be a superhero when you have video games?”

-

Ten years later.

Jeremy stirred from slumber only to see Michael staring at him. He giggled, smiling as he closed his eyes again. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, indeed.” Michael leaned in and kissed his nose, only causing Jeremy to laugh more. He moved to his mouth but kept it as quick. “I can’t believe you convinced me to move to New Jersey with you.”

“Close to New York,” he started to explain before yawning.

“But far enough where we aren’t reminded everyday. I know. You’ve told me.” Michael smiled, cupping Jeremy’s face before kissing him again.

“Does it ever bother you that you’re missing a finger? Or seeing the scars?” He asked as quietly as he could while still being able to hear himself.

Michael simply shook his head and smiled. “Does it ever bother you that you can’t hear as much?”

Just like Michael did, Jeremy shook his head and smiled. “Not at all.”

“Why not?”

“Because I have you and I love you and you love me too.” Jeremy giggled when Michael kissed his neck. “What about you?”

“Because I know better things to worry about.” He leaned back up to kiss Jeremy.

“What things?”

“Making sure you’re happy. I did vow to that, you know?”

Jeremy giggled. “I did too.”

“And I plan on keeping that vow until the day I die and onward into the afterlife.”

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: flailingraptor  
> ^^^ please come hmu ^^^
> 
> EDIT: FANART ???
> 
> http://humuhgod.tumblr.com/post/167546180505/holla-just-read-flailingbuptor-s-who-needs  
> https://redlightningart.tumblr.com/post/167984897725/a-spidey-for-flailingraptor-bc-i-would-die-for


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